Mass at the Shrine

I went to the Shrine of the Most Holy Redeemer today for Mass. This was a very rare occasion for me - usually we go to St. Francis as a family. But some car problems combined with some volunteer commitments dictated that we go separately today and so I went to the later Mass at the Shrine.

I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. I was worried that it was going to be irreverent, that the people in the pews would be shifty and disinterested, and that the music was going to be noisy. But the music was lovely, and they actually have a pipe organ!

The priest was a little hard to understand, he had a thick accent, either African or Haitian - or something along those lines. Sometimes I was not sure if he was trying to sing or if he was actually talking, because his voice had a very musical quality to it. But he was great, and there was no liturgical abuse that I could discern (a common problem in our diocese).

But what surprised me the most was that they sang the Sanctus and the Agnus Dei in Latin! It was lovely. And not only did they sing it, but the congregation sang along! As a former Schola Cantorum singer, I was often told by different priests of our parish that we could not sing at the Masses in Latin because no one knew Latin and they would not be able to sing along. But here we were, at a Mass right off the Las Vegas Strip, and people were singing in Latin!

I enjoyed the Mass quite a lot... maybe a little of that was because I was without the kids, but I think most of it was because of the reverent priest and the beautiful music! Praise be to God!